


Much Better

by Geishaaa



Category: Bleach
Genre: Banter, Brother-Sister Relationships, Crushes, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Zanpakuto Rebellion Arc, Zanpakutou Materialization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:33:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24984625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geishaaa/pseuds/Geishaaa
Summary: “What do you know of this?” he hissed to her quietly, as Unohana and the younger Yamada brother checked over his chart and the various machines around him recording his vitals.“Relax, Captain,” Rangiku grinned, speaking softly. “It’s nothing, just a harmless crush. I think it’s mostly one-sided at the moment anyway.”She took the tea cup from him, her smirk unrelenting as Toshiro frowned deeper at her. She nicked his chin with her knuckle as she went, in a cheeky gesture of ‘let it go’.Let it go? No.
Relationships: Hinamori Momo & Hitsugaya Toushirou, Hitsugaya Toushirou & Matsumoto Rangiku
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37
Collections: The Seireitei Server Birthday Gift Exchange 2020





	Much Better

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DreadHydrus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreadHydrus/gifts).



> For the Seiretei Server Birthday Gift Exchange, for DreadHydrus!
> 
> Dread - you gave me a lot of flexibility but I did some research and I know you like Momo, all Momo ships, and of course, Seinosuke Yamada~ (shout out to Luucas for suggesting that one!)  
> I incorporated your tags of friendship & humour so I hope you like this piece <3
> 
> This piece is set during the Zanpakuto Rebellion Arc and is particularly inspired by the Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book scene in ep 241, watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uJnvl3uPCw  
> For this fic, Isane has been replaced by the former 4th Division Lieutenant, Seinosuke Yamada (big bro to Hanataro).   
> Up to you how you want to interpret the relationship between Toshiro and Rangiku, choose your own destiny! <3

“Shiro-chan, it’s so cold in here!”

Toshiro’s lips twitched in humour over the tea cup he was drinking from, despite that dreaded nickname being thrown at him. Again.

“I like it this cold, Bed Wetter,” Toshiro threw back, biting his lip behind the tea cup to stop from chuckling.

Beside him, the Squad Ten captain caught Hyorinmaru straightening proudly in his chair. The dragon had frozen over almost every item in the room to bring the temperature down for his wielder.

It was strange seeing him manifested like that, but Toshiro was just glad to have his Zanpakuto back. Throughout the Seireitei, other Soul Reapers were still fighting to win theirs back.

Toshiro counted himself lucky, despite the fact he was still confined to a hospital bed.

Momo pouted from the doorway, either because of the nickname or because of the bone biting chill in the room, but nevertheless she entered. Behind her, the physical manifestation of her Zanpakuto, Tobiume, followed loyally.

Rangiku had informed Toshiro of her and Momo’s tag team approach to winning back their Zanpakutos.

Tobiume reminded Toshiro instantly of Momo – without knowing whose Zanpakuto she belonged too, Toshiro would have known instantly she was Momo’s inner spirit. There was a certain look of innocence in those doe eyes that could only belong to the Squad Five lieutenant herself.

Just as Haineko had the same outrageous humour and loud, boisterous personality that could only belong to Rangiku.

As it was, the ash cat Zanpakuto was currently sitting disturbingly close to Hyorinmaru and making awfully suggestive eyes at the ice dragon. Rangiku, who clearly found a lot of humour in that situation, was smirking wildly behind the fresh flowers she was arranging on the window sill.

“Are you feeling any better, Toshiro?” Momo asked, sitting herself on the edge of his bed by his feet.

There was sympathy in those big brown eyes and Toshiro didn’t like that. He was supposed to protect her, not the other way around.

“I feel fine,” the captain sighed, placing his near empty tea cup in his lap. “I would be out there fighting right now if Unohana would allow me... And it’s Captain Hitsugaya to you.”

The last comment was ignored as Momo tapped her lip thoughtfully.

“Seinosuke says you’re still too weak to fight,” Momo murmured. “He says you won’t last in battle if you fought now.”

Toshiro scoffed.

“Lieutenant Yamada knows nothing of what Hyorinmaru and I are capable of,” he rolled his eyes.

In the chair beside his hospital bed, Hyorinmaru nodded and hummed his agreement, while Haineko purred flirtingly.

Momo shrugged, “Seinosuke is usually right about these kinds of things. He’s very intelligent, you know?”

Toshiro raised an eyebrow at her.

“I wasn’t aware you and Yamada were so close,” he bit, somewhat jokingly but a hint of jealously reared its ugly head.

He had very few friends, and he didn’t like the idea of losing Momo as one, even if she was more or less his sister. He knew Rangiku was throwing him a pointed look right now, one that said ‘she is allowed other friends’. Toshiro ignored her.

As if knowing he was being spoken about, the dark haired Lieutenant Seinosuke Yamada of Squad Four wondered in. Alongside him, his captain, the seemingly sweet but actually terrifying Captain Unohana, and the timid Fourth Seat Yamada, or Seinosuke’s little brother Hanataro.

Toshiro’s focus was on the captain however, and eyed the woman as she approached, her braid down the front her chest as always.

“You must be here to release me, Captain Unohana,” Toshiro challenged, sipping slowly from the tea cup as she threw him a look.

“Not quite yet, Captain Hitsugaya,” she sighed. “In another few days perhaps.”

Toshiro shot her a glare.

“I am fine,” he insisted. “I can fight now; I should be out there-”

“I don’t think you quite realise how much of your Spiritual Pressure you had to use to unseal your Zanpakuto like that,” Unohana told him calmly, but even Toshiro could see she was at the end of her tether with him. “It weakened you significantly, and will only be restored with plenty of bed rest.”

Toshiro huffed and rolled his eyes.

A familiar giggle across the room caught his attention then, and the captain raised his chin and frowned as he watched Momo and Seinosuke leaning against the wall, chatting and grinning at each other. Momo was giggling, her cheeks dusted with a rosy pink hue, her wide eyes locked onto the taller lieutenant with long dark hair.

That wasn’t how Momo looked at Toshiro, and it certainly wasn’t the way she used to look at Aizen, or how she looked at her other friends such as Renji and Izuru.

No, that was how Haineko was looking at Hyorinmaru. Well… not exactly like that. This was pure, more innocent and naïve. It was adoring, not full of lust, but still it followed a similar theme.

That was the look of someone with a crush.

Toshiro shot Rangiku a look, and his lieutenant nodded knowingly, her grin saying she found this whole thing amusing. Drowning the last of his tea, he called his lieutenant over, handing it to her when she was close.

“What do you know of this?” he hissed to her quietly, as Unohana and the younger Yamada brother checked over his chart and the various machines around him recording his vitals.

“Relax, Captain,” Rangiku grinned, speaking softly. “It’s nothing, just a harmless crush. I think it’s mostly one-sided at the moment anyway.”

She took the tea cup from him, her smirk unrelenting as Toshiro frowned deeper at her. She nicked his chin with her knuckle as she went, in a cheeky gesture of ‘let it go’.

Let it go? _No._

“Uhh Captain?” Hanataro’s timid voice sounded.

“What?” Toshiro huffed.

“Yes?” Unohana queried at the same time.

They glanced at each other in surprise for a moment, before they looked at Hanataro expectantly. The young fourth seat glanced between them, conflicted, but in the end he never specified which captain he had been talking too, merely pointing to the machine that was tracking Toshiro’s heart rate.

It was beating a little too fast.

Unohana frowned at it and then at him and Toshiro rolled his eyes and leaned back against his pillows, crossing his arms over his chest.

“We’re causing you some stress right now,” Unohana murmured. “We should leave you to rest.”

“You should release me to fight,” Toshiro muttered but any follow up comments were denied as Unohana sent him a terrifying glare.

He wasn’t afraid of her. Not in the slightest. But yeah, maybe an extra day of bed rest wouldn’t go astray.

“Come Hanataro,” Unohana turned back to her fourth seat, voice falsely sweet. “Let’s clear the ice and leave the captain to rest.”

Toshiro frowned, saying nothing as Hanataro and Unohana picked up the iced over objects and dragged them out the room. Seinosuke continued to talk to Momo, seemingly unaware his captain and younger brother were carrying and dragging heavy ice objects.

Now that didn’t seem like a very good lieutenant.

It wasn’t until he spotted Unohana and Hanataro trying to lift the large ice sculpture Hyorinmaru had carved of him and Toshiro that the lieutenant did a double take and rushed to help.

Toshiro raised an eyebrow at Momo as she stared openly at the male lieutenant as he lifted the ice sculpture up and over his shoulder.

“Wow Seinosuke,” she breathed. “You’re so strong.”

The lieutenant chuckled, and reached down to ruffle his younger brother’s hair.

“Just years of carrying around this sack of potatoes,” he joked.

“Hey!” a disgruntled Hanataro shook his brother’s hand out his hair.

The lieutenant carried the ice sculpture from the room as Unohana and Hanataro whipped around and collected the last of the ice objects.

“Come now,” Unohana murmured, shooting Toshiro one last challenging look. “We will leave Captain Hitsugaya to rest.”

She turned and left, Hanataro following closely behind.

“Thank you, Seinosuke,” Momo smiled adoringly at the Squad Four Lieutenant, walking him to the door. “My brother’s room is much warmer now.”

Toshiro rolled his eyes so hard they almost got stuck in the back of his head.

“It was no problem, Momo,” Seinosuke grinned back. “I’ll see you around!”

With that the long haired lieutenant left, and Momo sighed happily after him. She turned back to face Toshiro with a smile bigger than he had seen on her in a long time.

“Well someone has a crush,” Toshiro commented as the dark haired woman all but skipped back over to him.

Momo gasped, a performance worthy of Rangiku Matsumoto.

“I do not have a crush, Shiro-chan!” Momo wailed, her face going bright red. “Seinosuke is my friend!”

Toshiro scoffed.

He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of Momo dating anyone. Call it brotherly protectiveness, but Toshiro had seen her hurt too many times in recent months and he didn’t fancy going through that all again over some long-haired, steely eyed lieutenant.

He did, however, have to admit that seeing Momo smile that wide was one of the better sights he had seen in a long time.

Still, he wasn’t going to let her get away with that easily

“Bed Wetter has a crush,” Toshiro commented dryly. He was teasing, but when he teased his voice didn’t do the sing-song thing Rangiku was all too liberal with. “Does Yamada know about all that bed wetting, Bed Wetter?”

Momo’s cheeks went even brighter and she waved her arms in embarrassment.

“Once when I was a little kid,” she squealed. “I’m sure you wet the bed once too, Shiro-chan!”

“Never,” Toshiro smirked. “Ask Granny.”

“I’m going to tell her you’re being mean again,” Momo threatened, though her face was more sulking than intimidating.

Toshiro shrugged. Granny would give him a slap upside the head and he’d take it happily.

It was worth it, honestly. Bantering with Momo, seeing her smile and respond so strongly to him, for the first time since Aizen’s betrayal, it was all worth it for Toshiro.

Though he still wasn’t sure how he felt about that Seinosuke guy.

“So cold, Shiro-chan,” Momo pouted.

“Well not anymore,” Toshiro frowned and made a show of rolling up his hospital yukata sleeves to imply he was feeling hot. “Your friend Yamada saw to that.”

At his name, Momo’s smile returned, though it looked involuntary, like she was fighting it down.

“It’s for your own good, Toshiro,” she said through her grin. “You need to stay warm.”

“How little you know me,” Toshiro shook his head, mock offended as Momo giggled a little.

“Rangiku, tell him,” Momo called over to Rangiku.

The strawberry blonde lieutenant waltzed over with a fresh cup of tea for Toshiro, handing it to the captain carefully.

“I’ve been trying to keep him warm for a long time now, Momo,” Rangiku smirked cheekily, sitting by his legs on the bed, her hand falling to rest on his shin. “His preference has always been a colder environment, but he secretly doesn’t mind it a little _hotter_ sometimes.”

Toshiro shot her a warning glare.

“I think I’d like it a little hotter,” Haineko purred quietly to Hyorinmaru as the ice dragon leaned away from her, and Tobiume giggled quietly.

The Soul Reapers in the room ignored it.

“I should return to my division,” Momo sighed. “There will be lots paperwork to get through.”

“I’ll walk out with you,” Rangiku told her friend, patting Toshiro’s leg gently as she stood. “I could go for a little catnap.”

“You better do the paperwork first, Matsumoto,” Toshiro told her tonelessly, to which Rangiku giggled.

“Well of course, Captain,” Rangiku sung, and she leaned down to kiss his forehead softly. “Get some rest, okay?”

Well, resting would come easier to the young captain if he knew his paperwork was getting done, but judging by the way his lieutenant caught her own Zanpakuto’s eye and shook her head, he didn’t think it was likely.

Momo waved to him from the door.

“Rest up, Shiro-chan,” she smiled. “I’ll see you later!”

Momo ducked out to the room with that as Tobiume followed closely. Haineko dragged herself to the door alongside Rangiku who just winked at him before she disappeared.

Finally it was just Toshiro and Hyorinmaru again.

“Women,” Toshiro sighed. “Am I right?”

The ice dragon made a humoured hum.

“Reign over the frosted heavens,” Hyorinmaru muttered then, and immediately the room was once again covered in ice.

The bedding, the windows, the beeping machines, the flowers, the walls, the curtains… even the sculpture had returned.

A cold rush of air tore through the room as it was plunged into sub-zero temperatures.

Toshiro sighed happily.

_Much better._

**Author's Note:**

> Well Dread, I hope you liked it :)
> 
> Thanks to all reading this, drop a kudos and comment if you liked! If you would like to join our The Seireitei Discord Server where we regularly run challenge and exchanges, you can use this link: https://discord.gg/Zh8N2Ra


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